Jennifer is a lawyer and advocate with over 25 years of leadership in state and federal government relations and deep expertise in policy and advocacy.

Valerie Esparza joined The Center for Women in Law in 2020.  Prior to CWIL, Ms.

Sofia Urcuyo is the Professional Development Program Coordinator for the Center for Women in Law. Born in Nicaragua, Sofia moved to the United States when she was seven years old.

Hilda Galvan is the former Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day, Dallas. Hilda, a nationally recognized trial lawyer, has represented plaintiffs and defendants in intellectual litigation in courts across the country for more than 25 years.

Nadira Clarke manages complex, high-stakes criminal and civil environmental matters for companies and individuals.

Ms. Puig has a substantial commercial litigation practice in both state and federal courts. She represents large health systems, medical schools, institutional health care providers, for profit educational companies, and managed care organizations across the US. 

Cisselon Nichols Hurd currently serves as Senior Litigation Counsel for Shell Oil Company in Houston, Texas, where she handles environmental litigation.

Marilyn Aboussie was born June 9, 1948, in Wichita Falls, Texas. She graduated from public schools there and was admitted to the honors program at Midwestern [State] University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Government in three years and graduating in 1969.

Stephanie is a seasoned trial lawyer who has successfully represented clients in both federal and state courts across the U.S. in major bet-the-company commercial disputes, consumer class actions, and product liability and mass tort actions.

Deb Coldwell is a litigation partner at Haynes and Boone, LLP, and represents franchisors, distributors, joint ventures, limited liability companies, partnerships, and the individuals who run those companies in jury trials, bench trials and arbitrations.

Samantha Hale Crispin is a seasoned M&A lawyer with over 20 years of experience helping publicly traded and privately held corporate clients and private equity funds in complex M&A, capital markets and strategic business transactions.

Stacey Doré, Vistra’s chief strategy & sustainability officer and executive vice president of public affairs is responsible for corporate strategy, sustainability, regulatory and government affairs, communications, M&A, development, and community engagement.

Beth Hecht is the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Xeris Biopharma (NASDAQ: XERS), a fast-growing biopharmaceutical Company committed to improving patient lives by developing and commercializing innovative products across a range of therapies.

Katie Hobson serves as an Assistant Attorney General in the Environmental Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office managing the Natural Resources and Land Use Section.

Gina Shishima provides practical and strategic solutions to life sciences companies (public and private), research institutions and hospitals related to all aspects of patent law—particularly prosecution, post-grant challenges, litigation and due diligence.

For more than 23 years, Julia Simon served as in-house counsel at Mary Kay Inc., retiring from her position as Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary in October 2023.

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